In the past, I've been extremely critical of Indians owner Larry Dolan for showing a lack of interest in fielding a winning baseball team in this modern era.

Today all I can do is applaud the Indians for finally doing something they should have done a long time ago: sign a marquee free agent.

No Nick Swisher is not a superstar signing like Josh Hamilton, but he has a veteran presence that this young Indians team truly lacks. On Sunday when he agreed to a franchise-record 4-year, $56 million deal, that was an indication that yes, the Indians are trying very hard this time.

Maybe its due to a tremendous amount of apathy realizing the Indians are the least popular of the three teams in Cleveland or facing pressure to help new manager Terry Francona, but the team has been surprisingly active in the offseason.

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The Swisher deal is obviously the highlight, but GM Chris Antonetti deserves credit for flipping Shin-Soo Choo for talented pitching prospect Trevor Bauer. Bauer may not pan out as a Justin Verlander-type ace, but he certainly can't be a worse major league pitcher than a rapper.

The other concern is he has a unique personality, but pitchers have all sorts of bizarre personalities. Chris Perez and Brian Wilson are perfect examples.

Ultimately, he may be a year away still from being a fixture in the rotation. That's not necessarily a bad thing with such a young team.

They also went out and brought in Mark Reynolds and Drew Stubbs, two very different hitters with one common thread: they strike out.

A lot.

Again, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but they bring some reasonable experience to the lineup.

Adding Swisher to this group which features young studs like Jason Kipnis, Asdrubal Cabrera and Michael Brantley gives the Indians a veteran presence that they haven't really had before.

He has a World Series ring. Francona has a pair of his own.

It's pretty easy for a young club to fall in line and listen when the most experienced players in the clubhouse are waving championship rings in your face.

Swisher is not the type of player that's going to hit .300 and 40 home runs. He's going to provide steadiness in the corner outfield which was awful last season and give a good combination of offense and defense.

Adding him and Reynolds is a good indication that the Indians are actually going away from the National League-esque lineup former manager Manny Acta had and putting together a lineup that can work in the American League.

Progressive Field is still a hitter's park. And while that means you still need great pitching to win in Progressive Field, having an offense that can produce at least five runs every night wouldn't hurt either.

It really makes a pitcher's life easier when he doesn't have to hold teams to just one or two runs to win a game.

Too often has that been an issue for Justin Masterson, who pitched some gems the last two seasons but still drew losses because of the lack of offense.

It's frustrating to see a team in a hitter-friendly park like Progressive Field consistently struggle to get just a few runs on the board.

Swisher can help, but it's also reliant on the young players getting better, especially Kipnis and third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall.

Going into spring, here's what the lineup may look like:

o LF Drew Stubbs

o 2B Jason Kipnis

o SS Asdrubal Cabrera

o DH Mark Reynolds

o RF Nick Swisher

o 1B Carlos Santana

o CF Michael Brantley

o 3B Lonnie Chisenhall

o C Lou Marson

That likely won't be the lineup on opening day, but looking at it, how can anyone say that's not much better than the lineups from last season?

For starters, Vinny Rottino isn't anywhere near the top of the lineup and Jose Lopez isn't hitting cleanup.

Will it help the Indians compete with the AL champion Tigers next season?

Probably not on its own. The Tribe still needs another bat and starting pitcher out of this offseason. What they have done though in the offseason to this point can only be a positive.

Just like the Ubaldo Jimenez trade, you can argue that it doesn't work out two years down the road. But having tried and failed is much better than having not tried at all.

Turnover on downs

Raise your hand if you thought the Clippers would be the best NBA team in Los Angeles this season.

No, really.

Lob City has been on a roll in the last few weeks, with a franchise-record 13 straight wins going into Christmas Day. The Lakers came into Christmas with just 13 wins all year.

No they don't have Kobe Bryant or Dwight Howard. But they don't have that drama either.

They just play great team basketball and the addition of Jamal Crawford has been outstanding. Chris Paul has been spectacular all season, averaging nearly a double-double as a point guard.

This is the first time, probably in world history, where Billy Crystal is laughing at Jack Nicholson...